Tinder fungus is a parasite that infects deciduous trees. It draws nutrients from its living host while gradually weakening and consuming it. The sculpture Parasit explores this quiet exercise of power and shapes our understanding of parasitism. Its surface is covered with strips of amadou, which reveal the material’s natural variations in quality and thickness, along with the tiny holes and imperfections left by insects and worms that once inhabited the fruiting body. Each strip carries traces both from the forest and from the artist’s hand.
Amadou, birch
2025
Interwoven Cultures is a collaborative research project between designer and researcher Mari Koppanen and textile designer and hand weaver Estelle Bourdet.
Bringing together hand weaving in linen and bacterial cellulose, the project explores how and where traditional craftsmanship intersects with material innovation.
Drawing on our combined expertise, we have developed a range of delicate bio-textiles that blend traditional techniques with future material possibilities.
Bacterial cellulose, linen, onion skin dye
2025
3rd image: DSL Studio
A burl is a living growth of wood with an unusual grain structure. It forms when the cells on a tree’s surface divide more quickly than those around them, shaping a living knot of wood. Burls and polypores are often mistaken for one another – yet each carries its own story. Both materials have been used in folk crafts throughout history.
Sensorial Bowls highlight the haptic qualities of amadou and birch burls, encouraging us to delve into their natural irregularities through tactile exploration. In the forest, tinder mushrooms and tree burls stand as silent opposites: one weaving growth and expansion, while the other works through decay and transformation.
Birch burl, amadou
2023
Hypha(e) consists of organically shaped artworks made from beech wood and amadou, suitable for storing small items such as jewelry. Historically, amadou is known as an antiseptic material and has also been used, for example, to sharpen razors.
Hypha(e) highlights the potential uses of amadou in everyday objects.
Amadou, beech, rubber foam
2025
The Trapetsi lamps showcase amadou composite in lighting design. This innovative material is 100% biodegradable, non-toxic, and prepared entirely by hand. The composite utilizes leftover pieces of amadou that would otherwise go to waste due to their small size. The binding agent in the composite is a wood-based cellulose derivative, a completely compostable natural glue.
The Trapetsi lamps are designed to showcase fungal material research in a way that makes it relatable, functional, and fun.
Amadou composite, clay
2024
FOMES consists of two pieces of seating furniture with generous shapes imitating the characteristics of a polypore mushroom. It unites wood, wool and fungus.
The legs are upholstered in soft, suede-like amadou, crafted by Romanian artisans. The seats are covered with woven wool blend.
Amadou, wool blend, birch, plywood
2021
Read about the collection on Dezeen, Vogue Scandinavia, and BluPrint.
The project was supported by Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) and the Asko Foundation.
Kääpä+ introduces a completely new type of material innovation: amadou composite. By utilizing amadou pieces that would otherwise go unused due to their small size, the project employs form-pressing techniques to create a biodegradable composite material, thereby unlocking the full potential of amadou. The binding agent in the composite is a wood cellulose derivative; a non-toxic, and compostable natural adhesive.
Emphasizing the visual, sensorial, and emotional content of amadou, the Kääpä+ project encourages us to explore design practices in an experimental manner that transcends a narrow focus only on humans, processes, or products. Featured in various medias such as The Times, and House&Garden, the project celebrates an ancient material in a way never seen before.
The Kääpä+ project was supported by Asko Foundation.
In the small mountain village of Corund in Transylvania, a rare mushroom craft has been passed down through generations. The local residents use a leather-like material processed from tinder fungus to create handmade items. The amadou tradition is at risk of disappearing, and valuable expertise is in danger of being lost as the aging artisans pass away.
The documentary centers around the story of Mr. Imre, one of the oldest amadou craftsmen in the village highlighting how the survival of the amadou craft tradition is contingent on a small group of individuals.
Ferna is a handbag made from bacterial cellulose. The material forms as a by-product during the symbiotic fermentation process of lactic acid bacteria and various types of yeasts. Ferna bag is not made to last forever, it’s made to decompose.
The rich brown pigment comes from lichen.
Photo by Kari Ahotupa
Bacterial cellulose
2022
ÄRT investigates the utilization of pea pod peels as a lignocellulosic resource in packaging materials. It is the result of a 2-week biomaterial experimentation with pea pod peels and various types of wood-based cellulose derivates. It proposes possible future applications for pea peel waste and demonstrates decomposable packaging alternatives.
Pea pod peels, CMC, MCC
2022
The project was completed during the Nordic Biomaterials course organized by CHEMARTS at Aalto University.
The formation of bacterial cellulose occurs through fermentation. The resulting floating microbial mat, known as SCOBY, primarily consists of cellulose, various bacterial species, and different types of yeasts. Despite being imperceptible to the human eye, the process is dynamic.
In "A Baby, A Beast," tactility is explored through fungal and bacterial matter. The project showcases a collection of samples from SCOBY, presenting them in both living and dried forms. All samples are dyed exclusively with natural pigments derived from plants and fungi.
A symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast
Natural dyes
2022
The first people to migrate to Northern Europe survived long journeys because they could carry smoldering fire inside tinder mushrooms, allowing them to move to increasingly northern regions. Later, amadou was carried in cylindrical metal cases and used as a firestarter.
The Byni bag is made of Finnish birch and amadou. Birch wood in combination with amadou ties the bag to the symbolism of the forest: The birch forest is a characteristic habitat of Fomes fomentarius.
Amadou, birch, linen
2021
The project was supported by Taike (Arts Promotion Centre Finland).
We Grew Together is a culturally sensitive material study of amadou, a suede-like material derived from a polypore mushroom called Fomes fomentarius (Engl. Tinder Mushroom). Local artisans in Transylvania persist in utilizing this folkloric handicraft material, employing it as a textile-like material to create small items such as hats and bags.
The goal of the We Grew Together project was to find new applications for the amadou material and contribute to preserving the dying tradition of amadou handicraft through innovative experimentation. The objects created highlight the qualities of amadou, which is a naturally absorbent, anti-inflammatory, and isolative material. It is also fully natural, vegan, and cruelty-free.
We Grew Together was awarded as the best master’s thesis project of the year 2019 at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, and it received the first prize at the Designers’ Saturday Best Talents 2019 Awards.
Fomes fomentarius
2019
A clothes rack inspired by multifunctional, folding room dividers. The 170 offers a variety of storage options for clothes or other textiles. It is easily adjustable into different positions and can be used as a display for carefully selected pieces of garments.
Birch, leather
2017
A foldable futon bed for one person. The Maki bed, with the mattress inside, fits nicely in a cabinet when it’s not used and can easily be rolled out when needed, which makes it suitable for smaller apartments.
Birch, linen, foam rubber
2017
The simple and delicate Martin stool is made of beech. It is a perfect companion for work at a table and easy to have around in the kitchen or living room. The Martin stool was chosen to be part of the stool collection of LiU Malmstens in 2014.
Beech
2014
